Illinois horsemen are committed to re-homing our horses when they retire from racing at Arlington Park or Hawthorne Racecourse. Galloping Out is an accredited organization that provides funding for the rescue, care, rehabilitation and retraining of thoroughbred race horses.
The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association created Galloping Out in cooperation with the Chicago-area tracks. The program, is a 501(c)(3) Not-For-Profit Illinois corporation, which began in April 2010 with ITHA Board Member Nate Ruffolo as the founding President. Galloping Out continues as an arm of the ITHA. The program is funded by the ITHA, Arlington Park Race Track, Hawthorne Race Course and charitable contributions (which may be tax deductible).
We marked the program’s seventh anniversary in 2017, and are proud to report we have re-homed more than 175 thoroughbreds.
The horses enter the program in all degrees of soundness and are rested and rehabbed from any racing injuries that they might have sustained. Race horses re-homed through Galloping Out become family horses.
When physically able, they are retrained for many things. They spend their days trail riding or jumping. They do dressage, play polo, and work with children with developmental disabilities. One has appeared in a military parade and another starred in a TV commercial.
Our horses are hosted near such Illinois communities as Fulton, Galena, Harvard, Machesney Park, Mendota, Plano, Rockford, Sleepy Hollow and Yorkville.
Our horses also have found new homes in other states including Florida, Georgia and Montana. Galloping Out is thrilled with the number of horses that have found new homes under our program and works very hard to make this something that everyone involved in Chicago racing is proud of.
Galloping Out is so grateful of the donation Thunder Cares made to our program for retired racehorses. My board and I allocated the funds for the daily care , feed, hay, transportation, veterinarian and training expenses of the retired racehorses. With the kind assistance of Thunder Cares we continue to be able to provide new homes and new careers for the horses who once competed on the racetracks in Chicago. Thank you again Thunder Cares!